The 1950s was fundamentally a time of conformity. You won’t find anything wild or risqué at this time period. Think of it as good, clean, wholesome stuff. The mini skirts and wild fashions don’t arrive until the 1960s.

A female function was to entertain or attend social gatherings – all to promote and further their spouse’s career. Cocktail dresses – short versions of ball gowns – were essential. A woman was expected to wear a hat outside of the house (except for the most formal evening occasions) and gloves at all times – short for day, long for evening. Men tended almost to universally wear suits. The practice of dressing young people like their elders was still common, with the ‘mother/daughter’ look particularly in vogue.

1950s fashion was regulated by three C’s – code, conformity and consumerism. Women’s focus was on rearing children and keeping house as they had largely left the war years’ workplace. Both men’s and women’s activities centered around family and home and clothing changed as a result. Emphasis was on practical but attractive housedresses, not only for household chores but suitable for quick errands or the school run. Women dressed for ‘wifely’ roles!

So you have made the decision to hop off the fast fashion train. You want to stop wasting your money on bargains and impulse buys and reserve your closet for high-quality garments that perfectly fit your style from now on. Great! But, what if your wardrobe needs a major overhaul and you can’t afford to buy all the clothes you need at once, especially if you want to avoid low-quality brands?

Obviously, anyone with a credit card can look fashionable. Very few people though—credit cards or not—can be considered women of genuine style. Take someone like Kim Kardashian. The reality star has gone from no style to constantly stepping out in high-fashion outfits that even top editors are itching to copy. She looks good, sure, but there’s something about her transformation that screams “I understand fashion now, everyone!” as opposed to an organic shift in how she—and she alone—wants to present herself to the world.

Winter Essentials :

Flattering Outerwear + Balanced Layers underneath

The iPod and MP3 players without a doubt took over for the records, walkman and CD player lovers of the world. No more looking through cassette tapes, or rewinding them back with your finger or pencil to the beginning of whatever song you were obsessed with at the time. However, you can't deny the amazingness and some what nostalgic essence of holding an actual mix tape. Yeah, I miss those days. Tears aside for more information on the Walkman click here :}

Advantage : Pocket size tape players are portable and can be carried out to any place since they can operate on batteries.

Disadvantage : The cassettes get damaged after some time due to regular usage.

Thrifty Dreams came about ( finally, but we’ll get back to that) from my love of travel and finding funky, stylish stuff along the way, pleasuring my never ending passion for both fashion and history. To me, fashion and history go hand in hand. It’s not just a daily expression of self, but can be viewed as a reflection of the times.

Just seeing how fashion evolves and even repeats itself has always been fascinating to me. Specifically, vintage publications can be intriguing depictions of life as it was during different era’s as well as different lifestyles, fashion and cultures.

I get an immense amount of joy finding preloved vintage finds, and continuing the life cycle of an otherwise forgotten piece of time. This site gives me a place to curate, chronicle and share my day to day findings and daily inspirations, while always recycling the love of carefully selected thrifty dreams because some things shouldn’t be forgotten.